The ReInvention of Rachel Berry
by Charmedfan90
Summary: Jesse St. James breaking up with Rachel was the last straw. She now knew she had to change herself radically to gain the support and love she desperately craves. Can someone show her how much trouble she is in before its too late?
1. Heartbreaker & Barracuda

Heartbreaker

Rachel Berry thought that she would be upset for a long time after Jesse had broken up with her, breaking his heart. Sure she had cried for a couple days, and had avoided him like the plague for the longest time. Weeks had passed by and she had come to the conclusion that she had been depressed long enough; in fact she was done with all the idiosyncrasies that New Directions had taken with her. Despite all of her flaws, she had come out shining, her voice boosting up the glee club to new heights. Yet she still heard the hushed tones, the hurtful nicknames, and the gossip about her and her dads. The Rachel Berry that had been raised to let it roll off her was going on sabbatical; no more Miss Nice Girl to bring up an old cliché. A part of her thought about everything the old Berry had; conservative, comfortable clothes. That wasn't going to work this new image for herself. Her internal thinking was cut off when there was a knock on her door. She turned around to see her dads standing there. "Hey sweetie, Dad and I are going to go out…"

"I'll probably go out too, so no worries," she said as politely as she could. They smiled lightly at her; still not knowing about the break-up between her and Jesse. A part of her flashed back through her short-lived relationships; Finn was cheating on Quinn with the little dates he set up and for the majority of dating Jesse, it was in hiding. The only other person she dated was Noah Puckerman and was the only one who was brave enough to be public with her. As she thought about Noah, she decided that she herself should have her own "badass" visage to protect her from the world. She had to have her own version of Puck. With a determined look on her face, she grabbed her purse and keys heading towards her car.

She looked in the mirror as she thought to herself, the old me would ask for help. Take suggestions for what was deemed socially acceptable, but she shook her head. "Not this time," she growled, speeding up a little bit towards her hair salon. As she parked she saw her usual hairdresser Nadine. She smiled lightly, "Hey Nadine," she said, slinging her purse over her shoulder, "I know this is super short notice, but can you squeeze me in…" Nadine looked at her watch and then the time for closing. She was about to open her mouth, she saw something in Rachel's eyes.

"Sure thing…it's just going to be and you then," she hesitated then questioned, "is everything alright?" She opened up the door letting the petite brunette in. Rachel bit her lip, and decided to tell at least one person about this plan.

"I…I am tired of people judging me and pushing me around. I feel…I feel I want this new image for myself, and the attitude alone isn't going to help me. Everything has to be different," she said in a determined voice. Nadine just nodded her head, and led her to the chair.

"Do you trust me?" she questioned. Rachel nodded her head; she was prepared for anything, she smirked thinking about getting a Mohawk like Puck for a moment, but decided against that.

"As long as you don't shave it off," she said lightly. Nadine nodded her head, and began to work on her. Locks of hair were cut, and layered leaving Rachel with a new do. She played with the bangs she now had and smiled at the reflection. She barely could recognize herself except with her natural big smile and clothes, she felt different.

"Wow…you look amazing," her hairdresser commented, liking her handiwork. Rachel pulled out her wallet and she shook her head, "This one is on the house," Rachel gave her two twenties, and thanked her once more before heading out. She then went to all the popular stores, and got more seductive clothing. The next day they were all going to be shocked.

The next day she made sure that her make-up was smokier than usual, and she felt a newfound confidence building up inside of her. She wore more modern clothes; normally would dub as slut-wear. She pushed down the uppity annoying Rachel, and brought the calmer collected version of herself to surface. She grabbed the heeled boots that Kurt had made her get the first makeover he did. She shrugged her shoulders and put them on under her jeans. She walked down the stairs, and was glad to see that her fathers weren't there. She wasn't sure how long she could keep the visage up with them around; she needed practice with her peers first.

As she walked to her car, she already noticed the different looks from the neighbors. Normally they wouldn't even spare her a glance, but this time she got a double take. She shrugged her shoulders, and got into her car. Rachel drove to school, and parked her car. As she walked down to the front of the school, she bumped shoulders with none other than Jesse St. James. "I'm sor-," he started to apologize, and she just looked at him with a pointed glare.

"Close your mouth, you'll attract flies," she said, re-shouldering her backpack. She left her ex-boyfriend openmouthed in the middle of the parking lot. She smirked as she strutted herself. She felt confident and sexy as she entered the school premises. She headed for Mr. Shuesters classroom to turn in a project. When she walked inside, she could tell that she had effectively surprised him. "Just came in to turn in my project…" also to drop off her backpack so she could practice the song she was going to showcase for Jesse at Glee. He doesn't know what he was missing, she thought to herself.

"Well…ok," he said shaking his head not sure what to say. She just grabbed her sheet music, and walked out of the classroom. She thought that Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker would do an excellent job in expressing the new image she wanted to portray.

"Well…looks like RuPaul finally got the hint to start dressing like a teenager," Santana said snottily.

"Might want to put your crabs comb out of sight," Rachel replied, seeing the fine tooth comb in the locker. Santana was shocked into silence; not because it was true, but she had said it loud enough for most of the football team to here. This meant she was going to have to deal with them questioning her to see if what Rachel said was true.

The petite brunette smirked as she got into the auditorium. As much she preferred having actual instruments, she was just going to have to deal with just the instrumental recording. She didn't see Noah Puckerman walking into the auditorium; things were still weird since the whole babygate thing, and after breaking up with Quinn, things didn't help entirely with the image. He knew that Rachel normally didn't take the auditorium this early, so he could strum out a few songs before going back to the Puck persona he hid himself so deep in. As he heard Rachel singing, he couldn't help but stay and watch her perform. She was so lost in the lyrics and music; she didn't see him watching her.

As she hit the last Heartbreaker, the room seemed to vibrate with emotion. "Noah…what are you doing here?" she questioned, quickly wiping the emotion from her face.

"I was just coming here to strum out songs…" he honestly didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Rachel hid her annoyance well. Instead of yelling at him like she normally would have, she walked down to him.

"Well, go ahead and go do your thing," she said.

"You can join me if you want to," he offered; it wasn't like he was going to admit that he was lonely if she said no, but she never usually passes up an opportunity to sing. She looked surprised for a moment before nodding her head. It couldn't hurt to practice singing once more.

"That sounds good," she admitted, knowing his voice was getting better the more he practiced. "What do you want to sing?" she questioned. Rachel wasn't sure how much of the songs she knew that he did; despite popular belief, she did listen to more than musicals. He thought for a moment.

"Barracuda," he said, "its gonna be a little more toned down since its acoustic, but I think you'll like it," he murmured lightly. As he started to strum out the first couple notes, she couldn't help but think that he was trying to be a friend.

_So this is the end I saw you again…_Rachel started to sing looking at him.

_Today...I had to turn my heart away  
You smiled like the sun- kisses for everyone  
And tales- it never fails!_

There was an odd look in his eyes, almost like he was also alone too. She took a deep breath before starting the next set of lyrics.

_You're lying so low in the weeds  
I bet you're gonna ambush me  
You'd have me down, down, down, down on my knees  
Now wouldn't you, barracuda?_

OH!

Back over time when we were all trying for free  
You met the porpoise and me  
No right, no wrong, you're selling a song- a name  
Whisper game

Puck smiled at the girl, loving the sound of his guitar mingling with her voice. He started to throw his vocals in the background, and he almost saw Rachel smile at him for a moment.

_And if the real thing don't do the trick  
You better make up something quick  
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick  
Ooooh, barracuda!_

OH!

'Sell me sell you' the porpoise said  
Dive down deep down, deeper than  
You.. I think that you got the blues too

All that night and all the next  
Swam without looking back  
Made for the western pools- silly, silly fools!

He was glad to see Rachel getting into the lyrics and music. This is one of the few times he had seen her genuinely happy was when she was singing. Puck grinned at her, as he started to strum faster.

_The real thing don't do the trick, no?  
You better make up something quick  
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick  
Ahh, barra- barracuda!_

As their combined voices rang out, he couldn't help but smile. "Well…" she said clearing her throat. It was the first time in a long time that she had felt a tickle in the back of her throat. "That was fun," she admitted.

"So Berry…" he started to question, tapping his guitar lightly, "Is that offer for being friends still on the table?" he asked suddenly. A part of her knew that this would be something this old persona would say yes to…but having one friend would be nice. "Rachel…" he said, snapping his fingers lightly in front of her face.

"Sorry Noah," she said, shaking her head lightly. "Of course the offer is still up for grabs," she assured him. He was still shocked that she was using such small words, but didn't want to press the issue. "Anyways, we have to get to class,"

"Come on…" he said suddenly, "we can ditch a couple classes…lets go do something fun," he said with a smirk.

"We are not making out," she said in a pointed voice.

"That's what you're saying now," he said with a wink, "But I'm just saying," he said with a grin, "lets just get out of here for a bit," she bit her lip lightly, and then nodded her head. He grinned and they practically walked out of the school from the lack of security.

_I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this story; the rights belong to Glee, Pat Benatar, and Heart. Anyways, let me know what y'all think_


	2. Building up the New Image

_Wow I cannot believe the amazing reviews and all the story alerts that I got from the very first chapter! Thank you all so much for the support in this story. I know that I'll probably get blasted for saying this, but if there is any particular songs, or things you would like to happen, leave it in the review. Ok now for the thanking of the reviews_

_**sweetcaroline1986**__: I am very glad that you liked the first chapter, and the fact that Rachel is starting to take her fate into her own hands. It's been an idea of mine since I saw Bad Reputation, so I wrote it. Hopefully this chapter will make you just as happy._

_**Taya8989**__: I hope you like this chapter _

_**troryrogan:**_ _I am glad you are intrigued and I hope you like this chapter._

_**MegKate:**__ Hopefully this chapter lives up to your expectations_

_**Twilight Gleek: **__I'm glad that you liked the chapter_

_**.: **__I think Rachel and Puck are a hot couple too! I will try to incorporate your idea with Santana ^_^ This doesn't only apply to you, but if anyone has any ideas or predictions for what to happen next let me know._

_**LiveLaughLurve3:**__ Hope this is a soon enough update for you ^^_

_And thank you to: Like-Vines-We-Intertwine, TwilightEmz09, sweetcaroline1986, Miss. Heels, lil-baby-blue1, aussietasha, NarutoGirl1839, katydid7186, Connathan, Can'tBeYourSupreman, luvlyash, Aglaia6, Taya8989, hanoverpretz, kanadianexpress, Baby-Firecracker, louis123, majibitca1, SheDevilJen, Night Fire Goddess, moviejunkie92, troryrogan, and moniquesabrinadias for the story alerts! (Since there is so many story alerts, here is just a big THANK YOU!) If you reviewed and I haven't responded to you, I am sorry. Just let me know and I will either respond on the next chapter, or just reply to you on the reviews._

_Anyways, here is the next chapter; I am so nervous about it. But don't let it censor what you think; every writer, even one on fanfiction, constructive criticism helps get what you want! I hope you enjoy!_

Rachel Berry couldn't believe it; they had managed to sneak into Shuester's class, grab her backpack, and then they had walked out of school. "Chill Berry," Puck said as they drove away from the school, "you're acting like this is the very first time that you have ever ditched," when she didn't say anything he chuckled, "you've never ditched before?" he said, trying to hold back the snicker.

"Nope, cared too much about class," she replied. Puck glanced at her, deciding to cut her some slack.

"Well…" he started, "what's something you always wanted to do instead of going to school?" he questioned, trying to see how far this persona she was pushing was going to go.

She shrugged her shoulders, "What do you normally do?"

"Depends," he said, "Sometimes I go home and smoke…but that isn't what we are doing today," he bit his lip, and then thought for a moment. "Well sometimes I go to this old drive in…figured out how one of the cameras work. It only has one movie in it, but it's better than nothing," he said.

"That sounds good," she said, still wondering if Puck had an ulterior motive for wanting to be friends. She pushed down the pushy Rachel and just went with it. Let things happen naturally, don't make everything about me, she thought to herself. Puck couldn't help but worry about the young woman in the passenger seat. Granted, if there really was something wrong, she would have been complaining about it already….right?

As he drove them closer, Rachel began to get nervous. "Its ok Berry," he chuckled looking at her worried expression. "I've been here thousands of times,"

"Cut class a lot huh?" she questioned, getting out of the truck. He nodded his head, not wanting to reveal the full truth. "So…what movie is in there?" she inquired as she helped him set up the speakers.

"You'll see…" in all honesty he had forgotten the movie title; he just came here to get away from the drama of Lima.

He helped her into the bed of the truck, and grabbed a blanket from the back of the truck. "Uh…thanks Noah," she said to him. He shrugged his shoulders, and sat down starting up the projection. "West Side Story?" she questioned. "Its one of my favorite movies…" she admitted, and Puck didn't say anything. It was one thing to do girly things with a girl, but not even getting to make out was definitely not something Noah Puckerman ever did. As they watched the film, Rachel couldn't help but feel vulnerable again. It was definitely harder than she thought; putting up this cool collective front. She shivered lightly and pulled the blanket up to her. Puck moved himself closer, lightly touching her shoulder with his. Puck just couldn't seem to place it; he was a stud, and he could get any girl he wanted. Ever since he dated Rachel those couple days, there had been a change in him. He suddenly threw his arm around her, crushing her to his warmer body. "Uh…thanks," she said, as she felt comfort in his embrace. She was once again reminded how comfortable she was around him.

"I wasn't going to break up with you," he murmured suddenly as the credits started to roll. "You know…I never really liked Quinn…"

"Why…why are you telling me this?" she questioned.

"Because all she ever did was remind me that I am the biggest loser every five minutes when we got back together. You always had faith in me for some reason," he said. "Not that I need the faith," he said, trying to keep his bad-ass intact. "And I've noticed the new image Rachel…why can't this new image have me in it?" it wasn't Puck that was showing, it was Noah. "Plus…having a stud like me around solidifies this new image you are desperately trying to create," he added with a smirk.

"You…you never really liked Quinn?" she questioned, thinking about their debate when she had broken up with him on the stands. It was more obvious to her now more than ever that Puck was the only guy that ever treated her right.

"Just cared about the baby inside of her…I don't want to be my dad," he said. Rachel grabbed his hand; it would be nice to have one person who actual seems to care in on this secret. "So…" he pressed wondering if he should put his own defense back up. "Its cool Berry, you'll just be missing a huge opportunity passing up on a stud like-," suddenly she had shifted, and her lips were on his. He grinned into it, pulling her into his lap. They made out for a while, and he tried to move his hand over to the top of her shirt, and she pulled away with a smirk.

"I may be different in many ways, but I ain't putting out that easy," she said with a playful wink. She got up and saw him smirk back at her. She was slightly unsteady on her feet.

"We'll see," he played along as he turned the speakers off. "So…" he looked down at his wrist watch, seeing that he'd normally ditch for another hour or so. "Wanna make out more?" she rolled her eyes, and turned off the projector. Before she could respond to the question, she let out a gasp. She tackled Noah making sure she and him were hidden from view. "Wow…I like this enthusiasm…" he said with a chuckle, leaning up to kiss her. She lightly slapped him, and hushing him.

"One of my dads is here," she snapped at him. "This is probably the property he has been trying to sell," in the midst of her rant, he pulled her closer.

"Oh…so that guy is your dad…he only comes every once in a while. He'll be gone in a few minutes. Don't sweat it," he said.

"Don't sweat it?" she whispered sharply.

"You know you are really hot when you get mad," he said with a smirk, shutting her up. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, and then just settled for a glare at him. He just grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes. Her dad's voice slowly drifted away, and when he was finally gone, her nervousness was replaced by a rush of adrenaline. "See it wasn't so bad now was it?" he said, smirk still set in place. She rolled her eyes, before trying to get off of him. "Where ya goin Berry?" he questioned with a light laugh.

She opened up her mouth to say that she had a test, but that would ruin this image she was desperately trying to hold onto. Instead she straddled him and placed her hand on his chest. "No where…" she said, smiling lightly. As sexy as she was being, Puck could tell that she was getting uncomfortable. As much of a stud as he was, he wasn't going to be an ass.

"So…you want to do something to make St. Douche feel like a dumbass right?" he questioned suddenly. She laughed at the nickname that was given to her ex. At first she had despised it when she heard most of the New Directions talking bad about him behind his back because he used to be in Vocal Adrenaline. While she was deep in thought about her ex, she began to wonder why he quit Vocal Adrenaline; he would have been guaranteed a scholarship out of Ohio completely.

"Yeah…yeah I do…" she said in a determined voice. Puck smirked; he was wheeling her in. Things may not have been great for the two of them for a bit, but things were looking up. Finn and Quinn used to be the power couple at McKinley High School, but wait until they see Puck and Rachel back again.

_I'm so nervous…but I hope you enjoyed this chapter _


	3. Getting back at Jesse & Chivas

_Wow, still cannot believe the great reviews I have been getting on this story! Thank you all so very much; but to save time and try and get myself to write more, I decided to just reply to you guys. But thank you for your continuing positive reviews, and even ideas. Thank you guys, you all are the reason why I continue to try and keep this going. _

Puck smirked as he drove towards the school; he knew that just walking down the hallways with Rachel on his side was going to be a shocker to the whole school. He thought that they shocked the class before, but seeing Rachel as she was will definitely get things kicked up a notch. She had a determined look on her face, but knowing her there was a good sign that there would be a song lined up for St. Douche. "Noah…" she murmured nervously as they came closer to the school.

"What's up babe?" he questioned.

"Do…do you really think that this is going to work?" she asked, still stunting her vocabulary slightly. He let down his defenses for one moment, and wrapped an arm around her.

"You'll be awesome Rachel," he promised, and after seeing her confidence come back up, he slipped back into Puck. "Come on," he said, getting out of the car to open up the passenger door. As they began roaming the halls of the school, the looks of shock and amazement on their faces was gratifying for Puck and Rachel. When they hit her locker, Kurt and Mercedes were waiting for her.

"Where did…" Mercedes started, and then was shocked into silence by Rachel's new look and the fact that she was getting all close with Noah Puckerman.

"Wow…this is definitely better than when I tried to give you a makeover," Kurt said, giving her a once over. "Though I have to admit, I think you look better with longer hair and-," she cut him off with a glare, pushing them aside to get to her locker. "And you're back with Puck?" he questioned, eying the self-proclaimed stud.

"Oh come on Beyonce," he said to Kurt, "you are just jealous you aren't a stud," he said, crossing his arms. Rachel hoped that this wouldn't mean that he would start throwing people in dumpsters again, or locking them in portable bathrooms.

"You guys barely lasted a week last time you attempted dating-," Mercedes started, "Its not like you two have much in common," she tried to reason. In all honesty, both Mercedes and Kurt were just thinking about New Directions and their slowly growing reputation, and not at all about the people inside of the actual club. If they were true friends they would have realized that she was clearly hurting.

"And you two clearly know me?" Rachel inquired, raising an eyebrow at the two of them. That shut them both up, and she closed her locker before her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her. They continued down the hall, and she felt him squeeze her shoulder, helping her calm down. As they walked towards their classes, Santana Lopez couldn't help but oversee what two of her fellow glee clubbers did to Puck and Rachel. She snorted; it showed how two faced most of the club was. Yes she was a bitch, but she made that clear as day with anyone she talked with. And yet here were the supposed friends of Rachel Berry being just as bad if not worse as her. She eyed them wearily, and then headed to class prepared to just let this go. That was the case until she saw some of the basket ball team with slushies in their hands.

She rolled her eyes and approached the main guy, and tapped his shoulder. She remembered him very well. "Where are you guys going with that?" she questioned.

Instead of answering her question he gave her a smirk, "Come back for more of me huh?" she stifled a laugh, "Yeah well Puck and Berry think that they are the new it-,"

"And you think slushying them will stop them…or stop Puck's wrath?" she questioned. He seemed to think for a moment, but shook his head.

"He has lost his edge…in fact you and Brittany have definitely lost some popularity ever since joining the gay fest there," she once again felt the urge to snort. He was definitely asking for it, and she wasn't going to hold back either.

She brought his lips up to his ear, "If you slushy them, I will tell every single girl that I know how small your penis is from all the steroids you have been taken," she saw his face drain of color, "you were in fact the worse lay I have ever had, and believe me there have been plenty of those," she saw him clenching the drink tightly. "Are we clear?" She questioned. He nodded his head tightly, and she caught up with Brittany.

"What was that all about?" she questioned, playing with a stray bang.

"I'll explain later," she said, dragging her friend to class.

Lunch came sooner than expected for Rachel; cutting more than a few classes definitely made the day go by quicker. Puck caught up to his girlfriend, and wrapped his arm around her. "Hey," she said, smiling lightly. She felt way more comfortable acting with him around, but it seemed like a part of him was just doing this because he wanted her, in all senses. She shook her head, and then felt him turn her around in an embrace. He started to lead her to the table where he normally sat at; it had the more popular members of New Directions, sans Quinn and Finn.

"You ok Rachel?" he questioned, smile in place to try and not worry the group of friends he sat with. She nodded her head, "Its gonna be fine," he promised her. Then he grinned bringing her close to him. "Hey guys," he said to Matt and Mike. Rachel was nervous about sitting near Santana; considering their harsh history. Not only did the group of guys and few Cheerios not seem to mind them; they seemed supportive. That was definitely a first for Rachel.

"So…" Santana said, "I know we haven't been nice to each other since we first met…but I got to admit," She said, "you got some balls doing what you are doing," she said to the two of them. Rachel smiled; who knew that Santana would have a heart?

"Thanks," she said grinning. She could feel the stares coming from Quinn, Finn, and from what she assumed as Jesse St. James. She decided it was best to just ignore them. They weren't important right now. She had never cared much about popularity, and a part of her still didn't. But the way that people were talking to her and treating her was definitely a breath of fresh air. Finn and Jesse approached them, "Finn…Jesse," she said to the two of them, barely sparing them a glance.

"Puck…what the hell is going on?" Finn questioned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, clearly not interested in what his former best friend had to say. He knew it was either going to be about him "using" Rachel or the stupid video she had casted the three of them for.

"After that whole video-," Puck turned around, and actually laughed, "What's so funny? She used us…she ruined her reputation, I sincerely hope she's happy," Puck continued to chuckle, and brought Rachel closer.

"You and St. Douche are still mad about the video?" he questioned in an amused voice, "sure it was corny, but wow you two are really acting like children the way you are sulking around," Rachel couldn't believe it, Puck really didn't care about the stupid video. "Go back to you playpen," he said waving them off.

"Rachel…can I talk to you for a second?" Jesse questioned, trying to stave off how pissed he was getting. She let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes, "I'm serious…"

"And since you self-proclaimed to the whole school that I'm a heartbreaker, why should I owe you a minute of my time?" she looked up at him with an impatient glance. She loved how flustered and diva-like he was acting. Now that she thought about it, he was pretty much exactly like her; except the obvious. "I don't know what you want, but you got three seconds," she said sharply. Puck couldn't help but be proud of how much Rachel was at that moment. She was definitely getting more confidence with this façade, but he had a feeling that she was going to be just like him on certain things; alone.

It was that moment that he decides no matter what she thought or felt about him he promised that he would always be there, even if the façade gets dropped. Before Jesse had a chance to try and explain Puck grabbed Rachel's arm. "Time's up," he stated, standing them up. Before they knew it, Santana, Brittany, Matt, and Mike were ganging up on Rachel's two ex boyfriends. "Bye now," he said, and saw the two storm off. Puck took a look at Rachel's eyes and saw relief, and pain was still shining through. No one else could really tell how much Rachel was actually hurting. Another promise he decided to make to himself was to get Rachel to lose the façade, and open up.

So before lunch ended, he gave Matt and Mike a look. They nodded their heads, and kept the two Cheerios occupied before they could see Puck and Rachel leave. "Rachel...are you alright?" he questioned, noticing that her hard exterior she was trying to keep up was cracking slightly.

"Yeah of course," she said laughing lightly, "why wouldn't I be?" she questioned. He sighed; it wasn't like he was going to push her into talking about it. That would only get her more agitated; he did know these things.

"Just checking I guess," he said, and then he pressed his lips against hers. Talking wasn't his strong point, but he always was able to show what he wanted physically. She smiled into it, and felt herself relax once more. She didn't know how she was going to survive the next few classes without Puck near to reassure her. She supposed that this was something she was going to have to get used to. In fact before that Puck even offered friendship and dating again, she had planned on doing this all on her own.

_**The Auditorium- New Directions Meeting- Hours later**_

Rachel had successfully made it throughout the rest of the day without freaking out like she felt like she needed to. Will Schuester was late, and she thought now was as good as time as any to sing a song that she wanted to sing towards Jesse. She knew with the content of the song, she knew that the New Directions chaperone wouldn't approve. Jesse had his eyes on her since she and Puck had walked in. Her boyfriend looked at her wondering what she was doing as she popped in a CD in a radio. She set a glare at Jesse, and waited for the part to start singing.

_You're not worth it babe  
The trouble you bring the noise you keep  
And you don't even care_

_I'm so sick of you babe  
Nights wasted I'm through faking  
You don't turn me on  
You don't do anything at all_

She could see Jesse's face start to redden; sure they hadn't gotten as far as heavy making out, but it was still just as embarrassing. She could see most of the New Directions members start snickering.

_Baby I can't stand the sight of your face  
Baby I don't even want to hear your name_

_Don't know what I saw  
But I ain't seeing it now  
Woke up this morning, bitterness in my mouth_

_Guess I fell too fast  
Guess I learned my lesson  
So much for true love  
I'll take this chivas instead_

The rest of the club started clapping to the beat, except Jesse. He was slowly preparing to make a diva exit, much like Rachel would. She took a look towards Puck and she saw the biggest grin on his face.

_You're too high maintenance babe  
All the time you spent trying to fit in and no one even cares  
It's so ridiculous babe  
Watching you turn as I burn  
It's like you're not even there_

_Baby don't you try and hold my hand  
Maybe you should keep your eyes on your new girlfriend_

_Don't know what I saw  
But I ain't seeing it now  
Woke up this morning, bitterness in my mouth  
Guess I fell too fast  
Guess I learned my lesson  
So much for true love  
I'll take this chivas instead_

Puck got out his guitar and started to meld in the acoustics with the set music on the disc. She moved closer to her boyfriend, and she grinned as well. Some of the female members knew the lyrics and started to do background vocals.

_I'll take this chivas instead  
Over your bed  
It wasn't even good  
Trust me  
I must have been so so so so lonely  
You are crap, yeah  
You should keep your eyes on your new little friend  
It's hard not to look I know  
I'm amazing  
I love you chivas…_

At that point Jesse performed quite the diva exit, and Rachel couldn't help but grin as he did that. That felt good; granted she was a little worried she went overboard but after the look on the rest of teenagers faces she felt a little bit better. Finn had the same look on his face that he had on earlier, but she brushed it off. Now all they had to do was wait for Schuester to show up.

_Well, after receiving all the reviews and story alerts, I couldn't help but post another chapter as soon as I got off of work. I am so thankful for all the reviewers and the people adding me to the story alert list, author alert list etc. You guys keep this coming…I am so proud of my writing because of you. So thank you again for the support. Much love to you all._

_The lyrics from the song Chivas is by Kelly Clarkson. And as usual I own no rights to either _


	4. The Dads and the Party

_Still can't believe all the wonderful reviews I have been getting from you all! Thank you so much for them, it was nice to receive them after working all weekend and made it so much better. So here is another chapter for you all, and I hope you enjoy!_

Rachel Berry had succeeded the impossible it seemed. She mused about her day as she drove back to her house. Her dads still hadn't seen what she had done to her hair, or her attitude. She was thinking maybe she should take down the front around her dads. She bit her lip as she wondered if they were going to find out that she cut a couple classes with Noah Puckerman. They were going to freak out when they saw the boy she was dating. Since their previous relationship had only lasted a few days, she didn't even introduce him. She frowned deeper at that note; they were going to grill him like no other. People thought she was bad earlier about her critiquing their singing; they should see her dads critiquing possible candidates for people to date her. She shook her head; this negative thinking was going to stop. She was starting to grow up, and if that meant stepping on her dad's toes a little bit so be it.

She saw that both of her dads were home and she wondered what was going on. They were never home at the same time. She took a deep breath, and remembered the look on Jesse's face when she sang Chivas, and the day she had with Puck. That got her in a better mood once more, and she found her cool. She opened up her car door, and grabbed her backpack before heading into the house. She walked in, and headed into the kitchen to fix a snack. "Rachel…" she stopped in her tracks. That was the you're in trouble voice, but she rolled her shoulders back.

"Yes Dad?" she questioned, grabbing an apple from the refrigerator.

"The school called," her other Dad said in a calmer voice. "Is something going on with your friends at school?" he questioned softly. Rachel always talked to him when it came to problems at school; of course she embellished the truth about having tiffs with her friends. In reality, she really didn't have any friends of her own; not until today anyways. She just realized that she had always been lying to everyone; even the people who care most about her.

"Skipping classes is out of the question Rachel…no matter what happens you stick with school…"

"David," her other father, Alan said, pulling him aside. "You know how sensitive she can get…"

"And you two seriously need to get that I hear everything you two bicker about," Rachel replied in a cold tone.

"Rachel Barbra Berry," David started to growl.

"What?" she questioned, "So I cut a couple classes today, so what? I'm not the only teenager who has cut in the past,"

"So if people jumped off a bridge…"

"Oh don't even get me started on that," Rachel shot back, her voice cracking slightly. She coughed lightly and before she knew David's face was sour once more.

"Have you been taking care of your voice-,"

"David that's enough; this is only going to cause more yelling," he said, finally dragging his seething husband away from their daughter. Rachel let out a sigh, and felt herself rubbing her eyes. Tears were coming from them, and she couldn't take it. She put down the apple and walked up the stairs and into her room. She locked the door, and put a chair up against the door. She settled herself on her bed, and then pulled out her cell phone out of habit. There were a couple messages. She didn't recognize two of the numbers, but she saw Puck's number there. _What are you doing right now?_ She looked down at her phone then towards her door.

She bit her lip, and she knew a part of him didn't want to be at this house. _Nothing…why?_ She sent a text back, and then looked towards the other texts. The first one said, _Hey Berry, there is a little get together going on, Puck probably already told you about it, but since it's at my place…just letting you know you're invited. _She wondered what was going on. She looked at the next message and saw it was Brittany.

_Its Santana, Brittany texted you. She doesn't tend to let people know who it is the first time. C u at the party. _This was the first time that she had ever been invited to a party, and a part of her felt nervous. What if this was just some ploy to publicly humiliate her? She took a deep breath, and then found another text message from Puck.

_Come outside._ She wasn't going to argue with that, she just grabbed a heavier jacket considering it was much colder at night. She pulled the chair out and unlocked her door. She could still hear her dads fighting so she could sneak by them easily. She pulled on her jacket and snuck out the front door. Puck was there waiting in his truck. She walked over to his truck meeting with his grin. It deflated slightly when he saw the look on her face. She noticed the look and wiped her stray tears away. Thank god her face didn't puff out, or get red. "You ok Rache?" he questioned. She nodded her head, hoping he would just leave it at that. "Rachel…" he sighed, deciding it was time to let Noah out and hold back his asshole tendencies. "You aren't ok…" he whispered, as she got into the passenger seat. Before she could go crawling back into her shell, he leaned over and wrapped an arm around her. She never got this comfort from anyone except Alan when gave her comfort after a huge fight with other dad. Rachel wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his chest. Rachel knew this was only going to last a moment, so she took it for all it was worth.

When she started to pull away, he snagged her closer once more. "What's wrong?" he questioned, running his hand down to the back of her neck. He massaged her neck, and felt her slowly relax.

"I…" she was going to open up about it, but she decided not to say anything.

"Its ok…" he murmured, "I'm not going to force you to open up," he sighed, "I know I wouldn't…at least not right away. Finn learned that the hard way when it came to me and opening up about my troubles at home. So…I've learned through my past mistakes, so I'm ready when you are ok?" he questioned. She nodded her head, "I was going to take you to a little party Brittany is throwing, but if you aren't up for it I can make an excuse and we can do something else," he offered, still rubbing her neck.

"It's alright," Rachel said, finally getting a hold of herself. "Thanks," she whispered in an appreciative voice. She felt his hands wipe away her tears, and his lips to her forehead. He smiled lightly, and kept her close once more. "So you said that there was some party going on?" she questioned.

He nodded his head, "Did you want to go?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder lightly, "We can do something else," he offered once more. It wasn't like Puck to do this, but he never got out of the shield he set up for himself very often so it was nice to not act "normal".

"No…I think I'm alright," she whispered, then she decided to say, "maybe next time?" she asked shyly.

"Sure babe," he said, a smirk coming onto his face. He reluctantly let her go, and restarted his truck. She buckled up, and pulled down the mirror. She saw her makeup was messed up. She wiped her face clean, and then reached out for Noah's hand. He lightly gripped it, and headed towards Brittany's house. "Last chance…" he said, as he slowed to a stop in front of her house.

"Lets go…" she said. He shrugged his shoulders and turned off his truck. As they got out of the car, She found Puck had embraced her once more; holding her together. She smiled and wondered what the party was going to be like. It seemed lower key than the parties she had seen in movies, and she found herself grateful for that. He knocked on the door, and saw some of the Cheerios and some of the football players that used to slushy her. Puck squeezed her shoulder, letting her know that everything was going to be okay.

"Hey Berry," Mike said; she wasn't used to people actually willingly talking to her. She knew that this was something that people did, so she smiled.

"Hey Mike," she said, as she and Puck passed him. Santana and Brittany were looking through movies; she was shocked. She was expecting drinking games, and possibly humiliating teens lower on the food chain. This wasn't what she was expecting. She then saw two people who must have been Brittany's parents. Things then made sense and she smiled relaxing slightly. Soon they went up the stairs, and found that there was some alcohol stashed around the house. She didn't say much, and she felt scared all of the sudden.

"Hey Rachel," Brittany said, "we were just picking out a movie to watch. The guys wanted to make a drinking game out of the corny things said in stupid action/romance movies,"

"I think they just meant movies in general, but they'd probably get more shots out of the gooey crap," Santana said to her friend. She found that drinking really lowered her standards on guys, so she wasn't really in the mood for a bad screw. Once they picked a movie, she saw that Matt, Mike, and Brittany had drinks, but she saw that Santana and Puck had no drinks at all. She saw him flash her a smile; he wasn't going to drink with his friends while she was there. This was a surprise to the rest of the group, but they didn't question it.

While they were drinking, Puck suddenly pulled Rachel away. As much fun as it was to see their friends getting drunk, he could tell that she was starting to get uncomfortable. "Is something wrong Noah?" she asked.

"Nope, was just thought you were getting uncomfortable," he remarked.

"I'm ok Noah really…you can have a drink if you want to…I don't mind," she said softly. He shook his head, and they went to the backyard. There was a hammock in the back, and he laid them down on it. "Its so weird…I didn't think people would be this nice…especially those who used to slushy me,"

"I…I guess I should have told you they were here," he said softly.

"I'm ok…really. Its just going to take some getting used to," she murmured. For a while they just sat like that, rocking back and forth on the hammock. She felt her phone vibrate and she pulled it out of her pocket. Her dads were throwing a fit about her going out without asking.

"Rache…" he whispered, "is everything alright?" he questioned, rubbing her shoulders lightly.

"Just my dad's throwing a diva fit," she murmured, ignoring the calls and text messages. "The glee club thinks that I throw bad diva fits, they should see my dad whenever they get upset about Dad putting out the wrong curtains," she sighed, and felt her boyfriend bring her in close.

"You don't have to go home tonight," he said, "sounds like you need a break from your Dads," he remarked. As great as that sounded, she knew that she should probably go home. She was about to say that, but then she heard him humming. She opened her mouth to protest, but he murmured, "Just relax," he commanded lightly. Soon she found herself calmed down, and she was getting drowsy. "Still wanting to go home?" he asked with a smirk on his face. She murmured something unintelligibly, and found herself burying her body close to his.

"Thanks Noah," she whispered sleepily. Tough girl act definitely went out the window when it was just the two of them, but she found that she didn't mind.

Santana had managed to pry Matt off of Brittany, and forced him to stay on the couch. "Oh come on San…she wants to…" he wined.

"Yeah, I'm sure she does," she snapped at him, "Bring it up again when you're both sober," she said, pushing him down on the couch. She turned towards Mike, and saw him frowning.

"Sorry babe," he murmured.

"Its ok, get some rest," she said, and then helped her fallen friend off the floor. "Brittany come on…you got to get up to your room," the drunk blonde tried to kiss her Latina friend, "Not now," she commanded lightly. Brittany frowned, and then it became questioning, "Is it me….or is Puck acting…nice?" she questioned. The Latina turned her head towards Puck and Rachel. He was being comforting, and not treating Rachel like some floozy.

"Yeah…Britt he is," Santana said, "Don't worry about it now," she said as she pushed her friend towards he room.

_Thank you for all the reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	5. Building up trust & Planning

_Thank you all so much for the continued reviews and support for this story. I am really trying my hardest to keep you guys happy. Hope this was a fast enough update for you all!_

When the sun rose up, Rachel found herself pleasantly waking up. She hadn't felt this nice since; she couldn't even remember waking up feeling refreshed and happy before. She opened her eyes, and found that she was with Puck on the hammock. She looked down on her cell phone and groaned. She was surprised her dads hadn't called the cops on her saying that she had run away. She was about to try and get up when she felt Puck stirring awake beneath her. He tightened his arms around her, and brought her closer. "Noah…" she whispered, trying to wake up her boyfriend. "Noah…"

"Rachel," he murmured, "it's Saturday," he reminded her. "You got to learn how to relax," She started to fidget more, and he opened his eyes. "Rachel…" he tried once more, and when she wouldn't stop it, he turned her around. Then he pressed a kiss to her lips. Instantly she wasn't trying to get out of his arms, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Much better," he murmured. She pulled away and he finally opened his eyes.

"Noah, my Dads are throwing a huge fit," she whispered; she was more afraid of her dads when they were both pissed, than getting a slushy shower from the football team. He looked down at her, and saw fear playing out in her eyes. Puck frowned lightly, and squeezed her shoulders gently.

"Why don't you say that you are at a friend's house, and you just crashed?" he offered. Maybe her parents would be more understanding if they heard the truth. She thought about it for a moment; it wouldn't be lying, it would just be forgetting to mention that her and her boyfriend slept on a hammock.

"I guess it wouldn't be a wasted effort," she sighed, looking down at her cell phone.

"It will be ok," he assured her. She nodded her head, and dialed her house number. It rang once, and David answered the phone.

"Rachel is that you?" he demanded. Rachel held the phone away from her ear for a moment before placing the device back on her ear. This was definitely worse than she expected.

"Yes…its me," she said, trying to get her sugar sweet voice on. Alan could hardly ever resist the voice to back down.

"Where are you young lady, I am going to get-," there was rustling on the line and she overheard a small argument before a voice went back on the line.

"Rachel," Alan said soothingly, "we know that you are upset with us, but will you please just tell us where you are?" he asked.

"I was going to tell Daddy that I went to a friend's house. We were watching a movie, and we all fell asleep," she heard her Dads say a few words to each other before the phone was muffled once more.

"Alright honey much against Daddy's will, you aren't in any trouble. Just let us know the next time you are going to a friend's house ok?" he questioned.

"Ok Dad," she said, "love you," she hung up her cell phone and frowned. Just because Alan said one thing, didn't mean she was going to hear it when she came home.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Puck questioned. She bit her lip and nodded her head. He knew that something was up; she was tighter locked then he was. That worried him a little bit; it wasn't like she had anyone to vent to. He supposed that her doing her Myspace videos was a way of venting, but after the horrific comments it didn't do much.

"It will be later," she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry," he responded, bringing her closer to his body. "I really wish there was something I can do," he let Noah shine through; hoping that would prod her into opening up about what was bugging her. She looked up at him in surprise. It was so weird to see this side of him; a compassionate side.

"Its…" she had to think of a way to calm down her vocabulary, "That's very thoughtful of you, but I'm ok," she tried to smile her way out of it, but still Noah could see through her lie. After feeling a hand go through her hair, she sighed. "I…I never told anyone this, but if you couldn't tell my Daddy is really hard on me about everything," she said, playing with the end of her shirt. "He nags at me every chance he gets; do better in school, warm up my voice, don't over do it, make friends, don't mess up-," she didn't notice the tears until she felt Noah's hands gently wiping them away.

"I don't think my case is as extreme," he murmured, looking down in her eyes, "But I've been a constant disappointment to my mom," he whispered, "except when it came to holding down a job to help bills. With knocking Quinn up, and all the Cougars, not doing well in school…she doesn't say much, but just a look is all that does it," Rachel found herself looking up at him again. When they first dated, they never had conversations like this. In fact, with any of the guys she dated they never did this. It was never this kind of talking she was secretly craving for. The fact that Noah was comfortable enough to open up with this information made her feel like she did mean a lot to him. She hugged him tightly, not knowing what to say to that information. "And then when she heard about me dating a Jewish girl, and letting her get away I didn't hear about anything else for a week,"

"Noah…" she knew that deep down, he still believed what Quinn had said about him; that he was just a Lima Loser. "Well…you got one thing that is going to make your Mom happy," she said, flashing him a small smile. He chuckled, "And…if you are willing, I'd be happy to help you with some school work if you want,"

"Maybe," he said, "Only if we get make-out breaks," he said, a smirk coming back onto his face. "You know that I can help you with some of your problems too," he said, taking her hands. "The closer you get to Brittany," he thought for a moment of his ex, "and I guess Santana, they'll grow to like you a lot," he promised, "not this new image Rachel, but they will like you," he promised.

"Thanks Noah," she sighed, and then fell back into his warm embrace. "Sorry about getting all emotional on you," she added. He shook his head; this girl was so smart but she was so dense when it came to social situations. Although, on anyone else, Puck wouldn't of had any of this emotional garbage. He just had to make sure that Rachel knew that she could trust him.

"Rachel…as much as I love being the badass of McKinley High, I just want you to know that its alright to come talk to me about anything ok?" he whispered in her ear. She nodded her head, and for once took that to heart.

"Thanks Noah," she murmured.

"No problem babe," he replied, squeezing her a little bit. Unbeknownst to them, Santana and Brittany had heard everything that was exchanged between the couple. Any other time, Santana would call her ex-boyfriend a pansy, but in all honesty that was the most open she had ever seen him. She had no idea that Rachel's home life was that stressful; the Latina felt bad for starting every rumor she did about Rachel. Brittany pulled Santana aside and out of earshot.

"Puck was acting like…" the young blond tried to formulate the words to explain what she saw, and Santana could tell.

"Like he wasn't an asshole," she supplied for her friend. "This is getting stranger and stranger by the moment," she looked towards the hammock and found that they were still there.

"You know….I feel like…bad," Brittany said. Between being hung over, and whatever meds her parents force fed her she was pretty messed up.

"I know what you mean," she said, and she was thinking about Sue Sylvester. "Look…she gets a lot of shit at home, may be we can find a way to get her off the slushy list forever,"

"You mean…" Brittany was finally on the same thought process as her friend.

"Make Rachel Berry a Cheerio," Santana said, "And since she didn't get herself knocked up like Quinn did, it will be easier to maintain the stay away from her zone,"

"Wouldn't like….us being friends with her have the same affect?" she questioned back. Santana bit her lip, and let out a low sigh.

"As much as we want that, and on the off chance that it doesn't work out, she really doesn't deserve the shit she gets," Brittany nodded her head. Now they just had to find a way to break it to Rachel.

"What if she doesn't like her idea?" she questioned.

"We'll cross this road if we get there," she said. As soon as they were done talking, Puck appeared with Rachel. "Hey you two, we were just about to wake you up," Santana said, hoping that they didn't overhear their plan. Puck just nodded his head; he could tell the two Cheerios were up to something, but decided not to question it. "Brittany's parents made some breakfast," at the mention of food, the two teens face lit up with excitement. Santana smirked inwardly knowing that she had them fooled for the moment. She was thinking about talking to Puck about it, maybe actually run it by him.

Now all she had to do was get with Brittany and the rest of the Cheerios to think about how to convince her to be a part of the team.

_I hope you liked the chapter _


	6. Falling Together

_I'm still not sure about Rachel becoming a Cheerio, so let's see how it goes. Let me know what you all think about it. Anyways, thank you all so much for the continued reviews and support. _

A few days had passed, and with the exception of her Dads still getting on her case about the overnight stunt she pulled with Puck. She felt her phone vibrating, and she looked down and saw a text from Brittany. _So…me and San have a question for ya._ She looked over towards the blond and wondered what was going on. Rachel wondered what was going on with the two Cheerios in the back of the classroom. Suddenly her thoughts started to drift back towards Noah Puckerman. He had been checking up on her regularly, and surprisingly she found herself beginning to like this.

The bell rang, and Rachel was pulled aside by the two Cheerios. "So what's going on?" Rachel questioned, "What is it with you two being so secretive?"

"Well…" Brittany started and then felt Santana pulled her and Rachel to a place where no one would hear. Rachel wondered what was going on; maybe she shouldn't have let in the two Cheerios on her little secret; granted, finding out that they had walked in on them opening up about their troubles, "We were thinking about-," Brittany started to get confused again.

"We were thinking that you should become a Cheerio," Santana said, cutting straight to the point.

"Uh…why?" Rachel questioned nervously.

"Because that would solidify your status on not being able to get slushied," Santana reasoned. Rachel bit her lip; she was already pushing it without how much she was doing. Between the practice routines at New Directions, her dance classes, dates with Noah, and her parents lecturing her she had enough on her plate.

"I'm glad you two were thinking of me," Rachel sighed, "but I am not sure-,"

"Well…at least think about it," Santana stated. Rachel nodded her head, and suddenly Puck was next to them.

"What are you three up to?" he questioned, wondering why Santana and Brittany had pulled his girlfriend aside.

"Nothing lover boy," Santana snapped back. Puck rolled his eyes, and reached for Rachel's hand. She took it and squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him that she was alright. "Well, its lunch we'll see you two in a bit," they zipped out of there, leaving Puck and Rachel alone.

"So…" Puck pressed, "what were they talking to you about?" he was hoping that they hadn't gone back to their old ways of being mean to Rachel.

"They just want me to join the Cheerios," she mentioned.

"Well…as hot as you would look in those tiny skirts…" he said a smirk coming onto his face," Its up to you babe," he murmured. It was still a little weird seeing him this comforting while still maintaining his badassness. She decided she would think about it; she wasn't sure how it was going to be if she just decided out of the blue to try out. It wouldn't bode well with Schuester, but then again lately nothing did.

Rachel decided to slide this decision up to later, and looked at Puck's face. "You ok?" she questioned.

"Yeah…" he murmured, still surprised that Santana hadn't given Rachel one of her classic Lopez death threats. "San hasn't said anything to you has she?" he questioned, knowing that she had given Quinn one when she had thought that the blonde was interested. It was really weird that she dumped him for having horrible credit, but still claimed him as "hers". He just chalked that up to being the stud of McKinley.

"What do you mean?" she questioned as he moved his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I think she has gotten over the whole threatening girls-,"

"Well even if she did threaten me or anything, it's not like I'd listen to it," she said, snaking her own arm around his waist. He grinned and found himself not so worried about his girlfriend; at least on that front. Puck felt his phone vibrate, and saw it was a text from his mom. She had found out about him dating a Jewish girl again, and she was freaking out. She wanted to meet her; it wasn't going to stop until she met her. "Who's texting you?" Rachel inquired.

"My mother, once again requesting to meet you," he sighed; hoping it wouldn't be a disaster once she met her. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how she would react to him being in a serious relationship. As much as he wanted to prove that he was changing for the better, it was going to be tough to for him to earn her trust in him back.

"I don't know why you are so nervous," she said, and then thought back to the person she was suppressing in her head, and sighed. "You think I'm going to be-,"

"No, no no," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just afraid she is going to go crazy on you…and then go on about us doing i-,"

"You could just say sex Noah," she said with a smirk, knowing it made him uncomfortable. He just rolled his eyes.

"I know that, but really this isn't something I want to discuss with my mother," he grunted.

"It's a parent thing," she reminded him.

"I guess so," he murmured. "So, you sure you won't mind getting grilled by mother?" he questioned. She laughed, and squeezed his hip again.

"It's not that big of a deal…" then she thought about her dads, "She can't be worse than my dads interrogating you. They have this whole little questionnaire set up to make sure that my boyfriend won't interfere with my future," when it was put like that, talking to his mother sounded like a walk in the park

"Wow…I'm dreading that day…" he knew that another time his bad ass image was going to get him in trouble. Granted, he never met the parents of girls he was with. While he was thinking about it, it brought up all the memories of the Cougars and girls he'd been with. He knew that was something that he was going to have to bring up with; he was going to be serious…he just wanted to be sure that he was safe for Rachel. His phone vibrated once again, and it was his mom imploring him to invite Rachel over tonight. "Mom is inviting you to dinner tonight," he grunted.

"Well…I'm free," she said to him. "It would be better than listening to a recording of what Daddy wants me to do while him and Dad are out for their anniversary," she sighed; she loved her dads, but when it came down to it she was alone most of the time.

"Alright," he was hoping that his sister would be over at a friend's house. But who knew; maybe they would get along. "Just as a warning, my sister and mother will definitely ask a lot of questions," Whenever it was just him and his family at the house; he wasn't the complete asshole jock. He was just a big brother to his sister; and he found himself liking himself more as that person. He shook his head; that kind of personality wouldn't settle well at school. He looked down at Rachel; and started to pull her away from the school.

"Where are we going?" she questioned, snuggling into his side.

"I don't know," he said to her, "I was just kind of planning on driving until we found a place we would both like to eat at," he said, smiling lightly. She smiled back, and squeezed his waist once more. He was going to suggest ditching, but the way her dads had gotten the first time he wasn't too sure about it.

"So…are we going to ditch?" she questioned, as they arrived at his truck. He still couldn't believe a part of him was kind of being the moral compass in their relationship. He shook his head, and gave her a grin.

"Whatever you want babe," he assured her. The old Puck may have been nervous about whatever Rachel may or may not have planned, but he was going to just roll with it. Ever since they started to date again, she had developed a sexy smirk of her own. It did a lot to the lower parts, and he grinned. She grabbed his hands, and started to pull him to his truck. For most days of the week, Puck had been picking her up. He may not be the Badass Mother Fucker (usually shortened to BAMF) he used to be, but he was someone to be feared if they hurt his girl.

His truck roared to life, and he started driving out of the school. Rachel bit her lip as she decided what they could do. She wasn't sure what to do; breaking rules wasn't usually her thing. She looked down at her clothes she had picked out, and started pulling lightly at the end of her skirt. She knew that no matter what Puck would be there. She bit her lip, and he gave her a questioning look, "What's up?" he questioned, as he started driving towards the fast food joints.

She brightened her smile, and felt her shell come back on. "Just thinking about what to do," she said to him. Puck sighed, and then headed towards the theaters. As much as Rachel didn't admit it out loud, she was not comfortable drinking or smoking. So whenever he went out with her, none of those things happened. "We're going to the movies?" she questioned. "I didn't bring any money-,"

"We don't need money babe," he said with a smirk. "I'm going to teach you the art of sneaking into a theater," he chuckled. In Lima, none of the staff seemed to care if you didn't have a ticket, so it was just saying walk in for free. She chuckled lightly, and found herself scooting closer towards her boyfriend. "It'll be fun," he promised, trying to see the classic Rachel Berry smile come on her face. She finally smiled nervously, and he chuckled. "Rache, if you really-,"

"I'm fine," she said, snuggling into her boyfriend as he headed towards the movies. Puck was glad that she was trying to be badass, but he didn't want to be pushing her if she didn't want to be doing this. "Noah…I promise…" she swore and that finally convinced him. "We're still getting popcorn right?" she questioned. Puck let out a laugh, and pressed a quick kiss on her lips before he parked his car. Like he said, it was really easy just to blend with the crowd to get into the theater.

"So what are you in the mood for to see?" he whispered into her ear.

"Whatever you want," she said, "as long as I get my popcorn," she said laughing.

"Alright," he said, laughing along with her.

_I'm sorry its so open ended, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^_^ thank you so much for all your love and support _


	7. The Tryout

Rachel Berry let out a sigh as she smoothed out her jean shorts. She was about to go up in front of a whole bunch of girls that still terrorized her to this day. She had no idea why she was even doing this; she knew when Mercedes and Kurt became Cheerios it didn't have positive results. Before she could dwell further on this, she saw Brittany smile at her. The girl may be a little off, but she was nice. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Puck standing behind her. "Noah…what are you doing here?" she questioned in surprise.

"I came here to support you," he said with a knowing smirk. After taking a look at her face, he gently placed a hand on her cheek. "You know that you don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable with it," he murmured. She bit her lip; she knew a huge part of her wanted this new image, but was it worth joining Sue Sylvester's group?

"I doubt I'll even make it anyways...Sue would never want me here," Puck rolled his eyes, and rubbed her back.

"Well I believe in you babe," he mumbled. She grinned and found that she was confident in what she was about to do. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his lips. He grinned against her lips before she pulled away. He took a seat on one of the bleacher seats inside the auditorium where she was trying out for the Cheerio Squad. She took a deep breath before confidently walking to the center of the room. In the back of her mind, she knew that she was probably going to get hassled by Mercedes and Kurt for even trying out. She put that to the back of her mind.

From the bleachers, Puck was looking around. There were more people here than he thought there would be. After talking with Santana about the whole she had better not be setting Rachel up for a disaster, he was starting to look into other potential people hurting his girlfriend. He saw Kurt was still in the Cheerios, and he really didn't look happy. The football player crossed his arms; he was going to have to talk with that diva later about his attitude. He wasn't going to throw him in the dumpster; there were other ways to get his point across. When he glanced down at Rachel, she saw him smiling up at him. Puck smiled and waved at her. As soon as she started her routine, he made sure to keep an eye on how she was doing. There wasn't anyone saying anything offensive, so he kept his sights on Rachel. She was able to repeat whatever the Cheerios threw out at her. He was surprised that she was able to do all that after just watching once. He began to wonder why she hadn't tried out beforehand.

Sue Sylvester was shocked to see Rachel Berry trying out to be one of her Cheerios; she half expected that Schuester was trying to get spies into her club to get her funds cut once more. She knew that Rachel would be a great asset to the Cheerios. It was up to Santana Lopez ultimately made the decisions for the squad, she let her Cheerios have bigger reign than most clubs; not as much though. She didn't want another Quinn fiasco about. "Alright Berry, we will get back to you," Rachel nodded her head, and walked out of the auditorium. Puck met her halfway, and wondered if she was alright.

"You did excellent babe," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks Noah," she whispered.

"Are you alright?" he asked, stopping them in the middle of the hall. She nodded her head, and found herself burrowing herself closer to her boyfriend. He knew that she wasn't going to open it up, and decided to let her be in her little world for a little while longer. "You sure you are ok?" he questioned, rubbing her shoulder affectionately as they reached her locker. She bit her lip, and looked over towards the Cheerios.

"I'm not sure if I really want to become a cheerleader," she sighed. Puck smirked, and leaned up against her locker. He chuckled lightly, "What?" she questioned.

"If you don't want to be a cheerleader, then don't be one," he said simply. Rachel had never heard that before. Everything she had tried she had always gone through with. It was how she was raised, her fathers always said that if she tries for something, makes sure she wants it. She just wasn't sure if she would actually like it, but that wasn't what she was worried about. Her dad…at least one of them, would get mad about her straying away from what goals that had set ahead for her.

"I just don't know what I want," she said simply, not wanting to get into a long explanation like she would have done in the past. As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she realized her big mistake. She was Rachel Berry; ever since she entered high school, everyone knew what she had wanted to be and where she wanted to go. "I mean…" she started to stammer. Puck knew that this was going to lead to a classic Rachel Berry storm out, so he wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Don't sweat it Rache," he said after he pulled away, "No one at our age should be so sure about what they want to do," she was shocked to silence at that moment. She never thought about it that way before; she never had the chance to think about it that way. "Come on…" he said, gently tugging her towards his truck. He had picked her up for her tryout, so she didn't have her car. She was supposed to go to his house for dinner with his Mom anyways.

Quinn Fabray looked around as people filed out of the auditorium. What was Santana Lopez thinking, trying to make Man Hands-Berry a Cheerio? She may not be the Main Bitch of William McKinley High School, and she may have her times, but this was looking bad. "Santana," she called out as the Cheerios started to exit. The Latina cheerleader turned around. Quinn remembered how Mercedes had gotten when she had become a Cheerleader. Rachel Berry would take it to the next level if she took becoming popular this seriously.

"Hey Q," Santana said. A part of her missed having her friend back, but then popularity took over. "Look we are really busy-,"

"I just want to make sure you aren't pulling a Latina stay away from my man thing on the Crazy-,"

"Since when do you care about her? I mean since you and Finnessa broke up, you stopped caring about her anyways," Quinn took a step back, no one had really been that snappy towards her since she really started to show her pregnancy. Santana looked at her, "What?" she questioned, "just because you have a bun in your oven isn't going to make me talk to you any differently," The Latina rolled her eyes, "But if it puts your hormonal rage under control, me and her have just been talking as of lately," That answer didn't seem to satisfy Quinn, but Santana really didn't care. She needed to go home, and make sure her mother wasn't hitting the sauce too hard again. She talked to Brittany about it, but most everything goes over that poor girl's head. If she hadn't slept with Finn, maybe she would talk to the former queen bee. "Gotta go Q," she said, leaving Quinn alone in the auditorium.

When she got to her car, and attempted to turn it on, she let out a groan. "Piece of shit!" she snapped, slamming the steering wheel. There was a knock on her window, and she looked over and saw Mike Chang. She got out of her car, and she was met with a concerned smile from the Asian.

"Everything ok?" he questioned.

"Stupid car won't start," she grunted. She was getting nervous now; normally she would be halfway home.

"I can take a look at if you want..."

"I really just need to go home," she muttered darkly, hoping her mom hadn't hit her emergency flasks already. Mike looked at her strangely, and then shrugged his shoulders. If she needed to be home that badly, he could just take her home before taking a look at her car.

"I can give you a ride," he offered, pulling out his keys. For the first time in a long time, Santana Lopez felt guilty. She had almost made him one of her friends with benefits, but Puck didn't want her to do that to him. She didn't want to lead him on.

"Mike…"

"Really it's no trouble," he promised, "Come on, I'll take a look at your car this weekend," he said with a gentle smile. She just decided to take him on his kind offer.

"Thanks Mike," she said, smiling lightly.

**Puckerman Residence**

Rachel smiled as she sat down at the Puckerman table, Puck still looked nervous. "Noah…" Rachel mumbled, grabbing his hand under the table. He flashed her a smile, and then shot a look towards his sister. She had been quiet for a while. "Abby…"

"Yes Noah?" she questioned quietly.

"You are kinda quiet," he observed, "you barely said anything to Rachel-,"

"Why should I Puck?" she snapped back harshly. "She is just going to go away like your other girls," Puck felt like he got socked in the stomach. It hurt to see how his family thought of him. Rachel looked towards his sister, and saw guilt clouding her features. "Noah…I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Its fine," he said stiffly, taking his hand away from Rachel's. He remembered when little Abby Puckerman looked up to her big brother. Now all he was dubbed as was the Lima Loser; even in his own house. "I'm going to see if Mom needs help," he grumbled.

"I didn't mean it…" she murmured, playing with some of the silverware in front of her.

"Why don't you go tell him that when he comes back in?" Rachel suggested. "Even though he doesn't talk a lot…" she said, scooting his chair over closer to the younger girl, "I can tell he is really trying…and would love his family's support," Abby nodded her head. Puck heard everything Rachel had said to his sister; and he heard what Abby said. Puck walked back in, his mom trailing behind him. "Thank you for having me over Mrs. Puckerman," she said very respectfully.

"Its no trouble at all dear," she said with a smile. "It's nice to entertain again," she said. "Its about time that I met the girl that Noah won't-," Puck shot his mother a look, and Rachel just laughed at him.

"I'm really glad to be here," she murmured.

"So what do you like to do Rachel?" Rebecca Puckerman questioned.

"Well…as soon as my dads heard me sing, they had me perfect my voice…and further solidified that I was going to become a star…" she frowned at that note; she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go to Broadway anymore.

"Well that sounds great," Rebecca said. The night continued with small talk, and Puck sighed as his mother finally had to go to bed.

"Noah…that wasn't that bad was it?" Rachel questioned, as she slung her jacket back on. Puck rubbed his eyes, and she leaned into him. Puck wrapped his arms around her. They just stood outside of his truck; he didn't want to drive Rachel home just yet. After a few minutes Rachel started to hum a song. It was Lean on Me, and hearing her hum that made him grin.

"I guess it wasn't that bad…I mean my mother could have been less of an interrogator," Puck admitted with chuckle. "But that's my ma for ya," he mumbled, "I guess I should get you home," she shrugged her shoulders. "What's up?" he pressed.

"Nothing," she murmured, giving him a kiss. He rolled his eyes, and pulled away, "What?" she questioned.

"Baby…" he murmured.

"I just don't want to go home right now," she said dodging the issue. Puck just accepted that answer, but figured that a drive would do them both well.

"Come on…lets go take a drive," she nodded her head, and allowed him to lead her to the passenger side of his truck. For the moment she wasn't going to worry about the results of her tryout…that was a worry for tomorrow

_Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter ^.^_


	8. An Incident

_Thank you all for the continuing support on this story; I apologize for not updating sooner. There was a death in my family, so I had to take some time. Anyways, sad things aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter :D_

Rachel frowned as she readjusted the Cherrio skirt. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "B, you look fine," Santana snapped, "and you shocked the shit out of Sylvester," she observed. Rachel shrugged her jacket on over the outfit, and let her hair loose. It was such a pain to keep her hair up when it was shorter than it used to be. "That and Puck wouldn't keep his eyes off of you during the whole practice," Rachel blushed, and the Latina snickered.

"Britney…" Rachel said as she turned around. She was going to ask what she thought, and saw her frowning at her lip gloss. "Is something wrong?" Santana looked towards her confused friend and rolled her eyes.

"She forgot how to put on lip gloss again," she said in a soft voice. "Brit come here," Rachel couldn't believe what she had heard. She shook her head and shrugged into her jacket.

"Hey…I'm going to head home," she called over her shoulder.

"I thought we were going to hang out-," Britney started to call back, but the Latina made her close her mouth.

"We are…I just want to go change first…and you guys shouldn't have to meet my dads…" they were already mad that her cheerleading was interfering with her dance lessons, and her vocal lessons. She let out a low sigh.

"Well…alright," Santana said in a doubtful voice. The brunette Cheerio walked out of the locker room and started to head for her car. She thought she heard someone following her. She thought it might be Puck, and she turned around with a smile on her face. Instead she was met with Karofsky.

"Um….hi?" she questioned, wondering what the hell he wanted. From what the other Cheerios told her, Karofsky was a bit of a horn dog. She reached into her purse for her keys, and fished them out.

"Sup Berry?" he questioned. She suddenly found herself nervous; she wanted Puck to be there. She had taken some self defense classes after her dad heard about the bullying going on around McKinley High School.

"Just driving home," she said to him, unconsciously reaching for her pepper spray attached to her key ring.

"Why so nervous?" he questioned a smirk in place. He began approaching her, and she felt herself stumbling backwards. As she stumbled she saw her boyfriend's truck was still there. Rachel was hoping that he would appear soon; or even one of the Cheerios.

"I…" she swallowed, and began to think up a believable lie. He reached out, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her closer, and she immediately pushed him away. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she questioned.

"Come on Berry…" he said, "I thought all Cheerleaders were loose,"

"That is a stereotype," she pointed out, "and you know that I'm dating Puck," she snapped. His face turned into a scowl, and he attempted to slam his lips against hers. She let loose the pepper spray, and hit him directly in the eyes.

"You bitch!" he screamed, swinging blindly. She ducked under his swinging fist, and tripped him. At that moment, Puck came out looking for his girlfriend. When he saw Karofsky fall to the ground, he started running over towards her. Before he reached Rachel, Karofsky knocked her legs from under her. Rachel let out a scream as she hit the ground. Puck sprinted over to them, and yanked the guy off of her.

He punched Karofsky in the face, and then said in a deadly voice, "Never…ever touch her again," he shoved the other male roughly away. Before he could think of going after the other teen again, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, "Are you alright?" he questioned. She nodded her head, and then buried herself into his body. He immediately wrapped his arms around her drawing her in close.

"Thank god you got here," she mumbled into his chest.

"Come on…" he mumbled, starting to pull her away from her car. He wanted to get her far away from the school.

"I got to go home…" she started, "My dads wanted me clean up the house…" Puck seemed very reluctant to let her go home. "And I just want to change into some comfy clothes,"

"I am going to follow you home," Puck said.

"Alright Noah…" she whispered nervously. "Do…do you think we should talk to the cops?" He wasn't sure; he had never been in this kind of situation.

"I don't know babe," he mumbled, "maybe we should talk to my mom…" he had never really asked his mom for help before.

"I…I don't know…" she whispered, but then realized, she really couldn't just talk to Puck about this. She found his arms wrapped around her once more. She felt her body relax into his bigger frame. She buried her face into his chest, and felt his hands running up and down her back. "I really don't want to bother your mom with this…"

He looked down at her, "Rache…my ma loves you. Once she found about us dating earlier, she nearly killed me for losing ya," he said with a playful grimace. "Besides…after what that asshole nearly pulled…" Rachel shuddered, "God…babe don't cry…"

"I'll be alright," she sniffled.

"Come on…lets get you some comfy clothes," he murmured, "I'll see what me and Abby can cook up tonight,"

"Noah…" Rachel started to object.

"Rache, its happening stop fighting me," she sighed and nodded her head.

He made sure that she was in her care safely before heading to his truck. As he was driving he couldn't help but worry about Rachel, and what almost could have happened to her. Before he knew it they arrived at the Berry's house. "Just wait out here for two minutes ok?" Rachel mumbled. Puck just nodded his head, and waited outside of his car. As Rachel walked into the house, she pulled out her cell phone. Santana had seen the tail end of the tussle with Puck, but he had hustled Rachel out of the parking lot so quickly she didn't get a chance to check up on her new friend.

_B wat the fuck was that about?_

_Karofsky seems to think that now I'm a cheerleader, it's a new reason to get into my pants._ Rachel texted back as she went up the stairs to change into a pair of comfier clothes. Before Santana could shoot her another text, _Puck doesn't want to let me out of his sight; he is worried. _She closed her phone, and went back outside. Her father's weren't coming home for another day or so; she deduced that leaving a note was quite pointless. As soon as she got near his car, Puck hopped off the hood of his truck. He opened up the passenger door, and she climbed inside.

"Noah…" she murmured, as he began driving towards his house. He was still fuming about what the other football player had tried doing. Rachel slowly reached her hand out and placed it on his shoulder. "Noah," she repeated, and he took at a glance at her.

"Sorry Rachel," he said, once again focusing on the road. He took one hand off the steering wheel, and grasped her hand lightly. His fingers running along the tops of her knuckles seem to soothe the both of them. "You alright?" he questioned.

"As ok as I can be," she answered truthfully. They came to a stop in front of his house, but before she could get out of the truck, he was pulled into his embrace. She could tell he was still furious about what the other football player had done. It really hadn't hit her what could have happened if Puck hadn't shown up. After a few minutes, Puck pulled away. As they entered the Puckerman household, they were greeted with the sounds of Disney music. Rachel smiled lightly, and Puck was taken aback for a moment.

"Why don't you go see what Abby is doing?" he suggested lightly, "I'll get started on dinner," he murmured, placing a kiss on her lips. He didn't want to really sing Disney songs with his kid sister, but Rachel seemed to love the Disney that was leaking from his sister's room. "Go on babe," he mumbled lightly smacking her on the butt. As soon as his hand left there was this weird look on his face.

Before she could say anything, the Disney Music was turned off. His little sister appeared and as soon as she saw Rachel she ran over to her. "Hi Rachel!" she squealed, tackling her into a hug.

"Hi Abby," she said with a small smile.

"I didn't know you were coming over today!" she said. "Noah you didn't tell me she was coming over you jerk!"

"Can it squirt," he shot back hiding his weird expression with a smirk. Abby didn't seem to notice her big brother's odd mood, but Rachel did. "Rachel is staying over for dinner tonight…what should we make?" he questioned.

"I don't know," she said, pulling away from Rachel. "Mommy said something about making something when she got home. So we can just watch TV," she grabbed Puck's hand, and then Rachel's. She dragged them to the couch and turned on the tv.

**William McKinly High School**

Tina Cohen-Chang bit her lip; she knew something horrible had happened. There was no way that she couldn't say anything. She soon found herself outside of Emma Pilsbury's office. She saw that the car of the School Counselor was still there. She let out a sigh, and knocked on the door. Emma Pillsbury opened it up, and was surprised to see Tina there. "Your name is….Tina right?" Tina nodded her head.

"I…I..." she hadn't stuttered in such a long time, but she was feeling so guilty for not saying anything or trying to stop the football player. Tears started coming from her eyes, and the counselor pulled her into the office. She was handed a box of tissues, and when she was finally able to talk without much interruption she began her story of what she saw happen to Rachel Berry…

_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, I hope I left it at a good enough point for you guys to want more heh. On a side note, I forget if I just made up the name Karofsky, but if he is on the show, what's his first name? Anyways, any suggestions for what you might like to see happen feel free to leave it in a comment! _


	9. Too Little, Too Late

_I haven't written for this in so long, I don't even know how I can continue without sounding bad before I get used to it again. I hope everyone is forgiving haha. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! On another note, I'm not into legal stuff, so I don't know how true this is, so don't judge me haha._

Rachel Berry fidgeted in her chair; one moment she had been in class and then she was pulled out to be put in the Principal's office. Her dads and Miss Pilsbury were there waiting for her. "Hey…" she said; she was quite perplexed. "What's going on?" she nervously pulled down on her short skirt. Her dads weren't used to this new style she had been putting on lately, and felt uncomfortable.

"Rachel…we heard some disturbing news," Principal Figgins started.

"What the hell happened Rachel? Why didn't you-," David started. His husband restrained him with a calming hand, and he softened his tone.

"I am still not sure what you are talking about," she said, rolling her shoulders back. Rachel wondered if Rebecca Puckerman had said anything. She didn't think she would and as mad as Noah was he promised he wouldn't tell anyone. He definitely was her bodyguard whenever she roamed the halls of the school.

"Rachel…we had a student step up and say that they saw something very disturbing," her face paled; someone else had seen the altercation with David Karofsky? Emma Pilsbury sat her down.

"Rachel…honey," Alan started, and she shook her head.

"Nothing happened," she sighed; it reality it could have been a lot worse for her. She was prepared for something bad to happen and her boyfriend jumped in and saved her.

"Rachel this school has enough problems with the iced beverages being thrown, which is bad enough on its own, but something like this we are not going to stand for." She sighed.

"Ok. I don't know why he tried," she emphasized the last word, "to do what he did, it didn't go very far. I got scrapes mostly; Noah Puckerman made sure that nothing more than that happened," she said. "Can I please go back to class I really don't want to talk about this," she said getting up.

"We plan on suspending Mr. Karofsky," he said to her.

"Okay," she said simply. "Can I please go now?" as much as the adults wanted to talk with her, she simply wasn't going to have it.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home honey?" her dads asked her. She shook her head, and headed back to class. She bit her lip and pulled out her phone. _You didn't talk to Miss Pilsbury about what happened right?_ She sent the text and put her phone away. Before she hit the classroom, her phone vibrated, and Puck had responded to her. _Of course not. What's up?_ She decided she would tell him when class was over. For the rest of class she found herself distracted. As soon as the bell rang, she walked out of the classroom and towards her locker. Puck was waiting for her. "Rachel what's going on?" he asked.

"Got pulled into Figgins office," she said. "I guess someone else saw what Karofsky did," she murmured. He stiffened slightly. He gently placed his hands on top of hers.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm alright," she said. "Let's not talk about this ok?" she asked; she just wanted to forget and have fun like they have been doing. Puck let out a sigh, but nodded his head.

"Alright…" he took his hand off of hers, and threw an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close. He knew that they really should talk about this, but once Rachel made up her mind, she wasn't likely to change it. It was odd; she was being quiet again. Rachel Berry a year ago would have been talking non stop about something; especially something huge. Yet her she was being silent.

"Noah," she said, looking up at him. He blinked a couple times and looked down at her. "Really I'm ok," she said to him.

After a few hours, things seemed to swing back into normal. Rachel acted like nothing was wrong during lunch; in fact the only thing that was seemingly off was Rachel not looking forward to Glee. "You normally love singing your ass off," he said to her. She laughed lightly.

"I guess, but it's hard to tell who's actually a true friend there," she said. In fact besides Noah, Santana and Brittany, she wasn't sure where she stood with the rest of the group. Mr. Shue was always supportive; but that was just a teacher.

"Well you got a few," he whispered, bringing her close.

"I know," she said, smiling warmly. She wondered what was going to happen when her and Puck showed for Glee. As they entered the room, she could see that Mercedes and Kurt at least looked apologetic, but didn't really approach them either. She shook her head.

"Well…" Mr. Shue cleared his throat and looked at the group. He frowned lightly; this was the most closed off he had seen his students be with each other. "What's going on with all of you?" he asked. "We aren't gonna talk about sectionals, or anything, but what's going on with you guys. Things have been different-,"

"We'll be ok to perform Mr Shue," Mercedes said. "It's not a big deal,"

Rachel rolled her eyes. It seemed that she only had a few true friends in this club at this moment. How could someone say they are worried, but don't even check up on you at all. Mr. Shue sighed; this wasn't the time to really try and wring them out.

"This week," he decided, standing up and walking to chalk boards. "We are going to be focusing on songs that express what we are feeling, and then songs that will help us get over problems. Since no one wants to talk about it, maybe this is easier," With them having their 'assignments' Rachel and Puck began to walk out the door.

"Rachel wait up," Mercedes and Kurt came over to them.

"Yes?" she questioned, letting out a sigh.

"We just wanted to apologize…"

"It wasn't right of us to say anything about you two," Mercedes said. They didn't add too much more to the apology.

"That's it?" she asked. "You aren't going to apologize for all the things you guys say behind my back. This is high school; I hear everything you guys say behind my back," with that she turned around, and stormed out.

Puck caught up with her in a few strides, "I'm glad that you stood up for yourself," he said.

"Must be rubbing off on me," she said, as she found herself wrapped in his arms.

"Hell yeah," he said to her.

_I know it's an odd spot to end it, but I swear I'm working on updating more often!_


End file.
